If you happened to have your Thanksgiving meal last week with a person of Greek heritage, you may have heard them toast “Yia mas”, that literally means “to our health”. And that is exactly what I am thankful for each day, my family’s health.

I am also thankful for the health of our wireless business, which is going great thanks to professionals such as doctors, and nurses that want to want to use their personal devices (smartphones and tablets) at work.

At Cisco we have long been talking about how we enable this proliferation of devices in the workplace and how we make it easier for IT to onboard and troubleshoot these “un-managed” devices. We also provide a robust wireless infrastructure that enables these professionals by providing the best possible mobile experience. But the trend of personal devices in the workplace does pose a valid concern: “As more and more doctors start using their personal iPads at work, will my patient data be secure?”

Curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to look at some data over the long weekend to better understand how healthcare data breaches occur. This is by no means a scientific analysis, I just crunched some data I downloaded from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website (hss.gov), so the findings are not conclusive, but rather indicative of what is happening. The data represents HIPAA breaches of 500 or more records per incident over the past 2-year period.

Consumers today are highly attached to mobile technology and are using it as part of their daily lives and shopping experiences. According to Nielson forty percent of mobile consumers over 18 in the U.S. now have smartphones. As these users consume bandwidth to send and retrieve content from SMS, MMS, Email, and social media apps such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter that supports pictures and videos, they are increasingly looking to Wi Fi to improve their experience.

Are retailers offer their shopping channels (including store, web, voice and social media) to consumers, the consumers are expecting to be able to use their mobile device across all the channels whereever they are, at home, at work, and IN YOUR STORE.

As a retailer, facilitating mobility in the retail store can differentiate you from the competition, plus help you meet the soaring expectations of your customers. On the other hand, allowing access to your wireless network poses potential risks. You’ve got to ensure the security of your data, comply with PCI mandates, prevent misuse and interference, and provide consistent bandwidth for your own operations.

For help retailers address this issue, we are hosting a webcast on October 20th 10:00am Pacific Time titled

Many have argued that the PCI DSS, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard is too complex to be realistic in a real-world environment. Cisco takes the opposite stance maintaining that the principles and security standards contained within the documentation should actually be considered a minimum. The true challenge being not in the implementation but in the ongoing management – the maintenance if you will.

This show promises to layout a simplified view of the standard with real-world, practical advice where anyone can find exactly how they would apply their unique situation. We have pulled out all the stops with our story-telling and top notch guests as we have members of the standards board, networking experts and certifies QSA auditors joining us.

PCI. It’s not just for Breakfast

It’s amazing how many networks fall into the “compliance required” category. For PCI it only takes one credit card transaction to be at risk…but rather than focus on the negativity of the required audit – this topic and the maturity of the standard is actually good for ANYONE interested in protecting their data. You may have the typically binary response as to whether this show applies to you…but I think you need to give it a go. You may be surprised….the show and the Shownotes are after the jump.

What’s a CVO? A Chief Video Officer. A senior officer in your bank who is responsible for developing your video strategy, executing on that strategy and measuring and reporting its results. Read More »

While there is a world of difference between a deck of 52 and a deck of credit cards, it is still wise to hold those payment cards close to the vest. A solid part of protecting those cards from prying eyes is ensuring your insurance firm is compliant with the Payment Card Industry’s Data Security Standard.

Is PCI compliance important to insurers? Every carrier CTO and CIO I have asked has said , “Yes, it is…and we are working on it now.” I’d venture to say, as with all compliance and risk management it is not a one-and-done effort, as regular reviews are required.

Today, April 14, 2011, Cisco announced its newest work in the area of helping companies across all industries comply with the PCI DSS 2.0 guidelines. And since the PCI DSS guidelines apply to all companies—including insurance—that transmit, process or store credit card transactions and cardholder information, I’ve recorded a video in which I discuss the PCI DSS standard and its applicability to insurance.

Cisco is at the table with its customers when it comes to enabling PCI compliance and is an active member of the Payment Card Industry Securities Standard Council’s Board of Advisors. We completed a new Cisco Design and Implementation Guide that includes 30+ Cisco and technology partner products that have been examined by an auditor.

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